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PANTHER VISION — 49ers, Jags and Seahawks look to deprive Panthers of playoffs

San Francisco (3-8), 12/2

Alex Smith is out as quarterback, but Trent Dilfer didn’t look too shabby last week in the surprise win over Arizona.   For all the criticism the 49ers have received, they only have one less win than the Panthers.   The defense isn’t terrible, either.  It’s just forced onto the field far too much.  Rookie linebacker Patrick Willis is beastly, currently leading the NFL with 110 tackles.  He had 18 tackles (17 solo) against the Cardinals last week.  John Fox shouldn’t run guys anywhere near his way.

The good news for Carolina is that San Francisco is thoroughly lacking in its receiving corps.  That should help comfort Carolina’s secondary, which took a ravaging last week against New Orleans.  Cornerbacks Nate Clements and Walt Harris have at least made it somewhat difficult for opposing receivers.  Harris managed two interceptions last week.  Safety Michael Lewis will also be a force in coverage, blitzes and tackling.  This will definitely be a difficult team to pass against.

@ Jacksonville (8-3), 12/9

The Jags perpetually surprise me.  It seems like they shouldn’t be that good, especially given the increasing difficulty of their division.   Still, they sit only a game behind Indy, whom they play this week, for the division lead.  Thankfully, their defense is weaker this year (28th in the league at 246.5 yards/game allowed), particularly due to injuries.

The offense is dynamic and explosive, however.  It turns out releasing Byron Leftwich really was the right move.  David Garrard has nine TDs and zero interceptions on the season (and only one lost fumble).  He knows how to play mistake-free football.  At running back, Jacksonville has a nasty 1-2-3 combo with Maurice Jones-Drew, Fred Taylor and Greg Jones.  The only problem is that by the time the Panthers play the Jags, this team will be fired up either way.  They could lose to Indy and looking to avenge the loss, or they could beat Indy and, being tied by record, be striving for another win and an AFC South lead.

Seattle (7-4), 12/16

Once again, even with Shaun Alexander down and fading out of running back-supremacy, the Seahawks sit atop the NFC West.  They narrowly beat St. Louis last week, and the Rams still should have won (botched snap lost a TD shot to win the game).  The Seahawks are definitely vulnerable.  Their upcoming games against Philadelphia and Arizona should be good indicators for what kind of team they will be when they travel to Carolina.

Still, this 2005 NFC Championship rematch will be the second biggest obstacle for Carolina if they are to make a push for the playoffs.  It could even be the biggest obstacle, assuming Dallas gets enough of a lead in their division to not need to worry by the next-to-last game of the season and thus not play their starters all game.
Finally, how about some humor?  I got an email today with some good Panthers jokes. Maybe it will help lighten the mood of this increasingly dreary season or at the very least give you some good ammo for making jabs at the team with friends.

Q:  What do you call 53 people sitting around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
A:  The Carolina Panthers.

Q:  What do the Carolina Panthers and Billy Graham have in common?
A:  They both can make a whole stadium stand up and yell, “Jesus Christ!”

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 29th, 2007 at 12:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.